Butter serving machine



July 4, I944. s. A. THOMAS 2,362,666 Q BUTTER SERVJFNG MACHINE 4 sheets-skeet 1 Filed Nov. 25, 1940 IN VENTOR July 4, 1944.

S. A. THOMAS BUTTER SERVING MACHINE Filed Nov. 25, 1940 mIIHHHHHIHiHII '4 Shets-Sheet 2 FIG 5 y 4, 1944. s, A. "rHoMAs 2,352,666 BUTTER SERVING MACHINE Filed Nov. 25, 1940 4Sheets-Sheet s 11v VENTOR SHERMAN fl. Farms July 4, 1944. s. A. THOMAS BUTTER SERVING MACHINE 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed NOV. 25, 1940 INVENTOR FIG 4 \SHEIFNIHVA.7/7ONAS omvsy Patented July 4, 1944 UNITED STATES" PAT NT OFFICE BUTTER, ING MACHINE Sherman A. Thomas, Rochester, N. Y. Application November 25, 1940, Serial No. 366,942

7 Claims. (Cl. 31 -13) place during the opening of its cover prior to the reloading of the feeding tube.

Another object of this invention is to house the --operating mechanism of the machine adjacent a combined cooling and butter storage compartment in such amanner that the cooling of the'butter and its feeding and cutting mechanism willbe constant and at the proper working temperature of the butter.

Another object of this invention is to mount the feeding and cutting mechanism of the machine on a base plate and a movement plate in the'otherwise non-rigid cover and bottom structure of the machine and spacedly connect these plates in a novel manner to permit the compression of the butter without distorting the base'of thehousing or its cover. l

Another object'of this invention is to elevate the extruding and cutting mechanism above the j bottom of the combined cooling and storage compartmentand adjacent the front thereof so as to counterbalance the operating mechanism with the combined cooling and storage compartment and its contents and. at the same time provide for the convenient deposit of the butter patty.

A further object of this invention is to provide a floating suspension for the butter feeding mechanism.

Still another objectof this invention. is to provide the connecting members between the base plate and movement plate of the machine with locking means with which the cover of the' machine is automatically locked and unlocked on the housing thereof;

All these and other objects. and attendant, advantages" of this invention ,will become more readily apparent from the'l'detailed description thereof which follows, reference being tothe accompanying. drawings in which- Figure 11 isva top plan view of themachine with r the cover in its open or raised position. Figure 4 is a longitudinal sectional view of the. machine taken on the line 4 4 in Figure 3. v Figure ,5 is a verticalsectional view of the machine taken on the line 5-5 in Figure 1. p Figure 6 is a detail bottom plan view, takenon the line 6-6 in Figures 5 and 7.

Figure 7 is a detail sectional view of the feed.- ing. mechanism taken on the line 'I 'I in Figures 5 and 6.

Figure 8 is an enlarged sectional view of the pawl mechanism which is operated, to advance the piston rod in feeding the piston to extrude a butter patty.

A butter serving machine to bepractical and eflicient must be simple and fool proof in its manipulation and accurate in its operation. This is true. of the machine forming the subject matter of my. present invention which embodies improvements over my prior Patent No. 1,320,293, dated October 28, 1919, that overcome the defects in this type of machine which, up to the present, have prevented theuniversal adoption and use of the machine.

In the formation and extrusion ties, it has been found that butter when compressedacts very much like a rubberysubstance, that is, it yieldingly resists its compression during extrusion. so that, it is absolutely; essential that the feeding mechanism and its mounting provide an absolutely accurate non-yielding movement for a predetermined accurate extrusion of each butter patty. It, is furthermore essential that the butter be kept at all times at a uniformly proper cutting, and spreading temperature, so that the feeding and cutting mechanism is operated with the butter neither too hard nor Figure .2. is a. frbnt elevation of the; machine.

too soft to thus provide a uniform extrusion ,andformation for the butter patty and a uniform cutting thereof. a

The manipulation of the butter serving machine ha sjbeen improved over the prior art by providing means whereby the feeding piston is automatically released and retracted for the reloading of the feeding tube, andthe retracting means cooperate with the connecting members between the supportingbase plate and the movefmerit plate of the machine so that the release of the connection provided by the connecting member and the simultaneous release of the cover of. themachine cause the release of the retracting means, which is then free to operate after the adhesive force between the piston and the residual; butter-inthe butter feeding tube nag butllef put-r and suitable heat insulation such as cork or other heat insulating material is placed between. them to efficiently heat-insulate the interior from the" exterior of the housing.

A cover 4 is hingedly mounted on one side of movement plate l8 on the tie rods or posts 8, 8. In this way the movement plate 18 and the base plate .lare rigidly connected to permit the compression of butter in the butter feeding tube l2 between them without straining or buckling the structurally weak sheet metal bottom and cover of the machine. I

The feeding mechanism used in the intermittent or step by step movement of the'piston rod and piston is similar to the feeding mechanism illustrated in my prior patent, above referred to, and includes a pawl 24 which is yieldingly and .pivotally suspended thru the yoke 25 by the spring 28. pin Zlcarried by the upright 28.

the housing by means of the brackets and B and their pivot pins 1 are located so as to provide for a swinging opening movement which will permitthe withdrawal bythe cover of the piston from any position in the butter feeding tube and provide for ready engagement or disengagement of the cover fro-m'the ends of the tie rods 8, 8.

The latter are threaded into the base plate 9 and are fixedly held and anchored therein by means of the locknuts I0, ill.

This base plate'is located b'etween'the outer and innersheet metal shell so as to provide a strong and rigid base support in the otherwise weak structure of the bottom of the housing. 7

The butterfeeding tube l'l i's supported by and anchored to the base plate which, for this purpose, is 'suitablyrecessed at l2 and provided'with an opening l3 centrally of the recess to have the shoulderhl'of the'tuberest in the recess and fastened therein with the reduced end l5 of the tube extending thru the opening I3 so as'to project-from the bottom of the housing. Both'the recess'and the opening'are larger than the outside'diameterof'the feeding tube and its reduced end respectively in' order to permit the feeding tube to be adjusted thereiri for alignment with th'episton lfi and piston rodii -Which are suspended from the cover and areadapted to-cooperate with the feedingtubeto extrude the butter therefrom.

The cover 4 carries the movement'plate- |8 which, as-inthe case'of the base plate 9 in the bottom of thehousing, is set into the cover so as tel-providea strong-and rigid support for the feeding mechanism in the otherwise weak structure ofthe cover. The movement plate has three openingstherethru. Two of these, indicated by referencenumeralsw, I9, are adapted to havethe upper ends ofthe tie rods 8, 8 proie ctthe'rethru an'd'the third opening inter- 5 mediate the openings l9, I9 is adapted to have the'piston rod l1 suspended therein for movement'thru the c over 4. Openings I9, l9 are increased in diameter toward the bottom of the cover so a to have thefixed endsof the tie rods or posts 8, tre'adilyenter thereinto or move out thereof when the cover is swung closed 'or swung open.

Each-of'the tie rods or posts '8, 8*is provided with; an annular groove 2 Linear the top, substantiallylevelwith thetop of the movementplate If}, and on the movement plate are'mounted to swing a pair of notches 22" and 23 which have slottedheads for their engagement into and par- 1 tially around the annular grooves 2 I. The engagement of the latches with the'tie rods or posts thus'simultaneously locks'the cover 4 in place'on" the housing and rigidly holds and supports the The latter is mounted on the fixed The teeth 29 onone'side of the pawl at the bottom thereof are adapted to engage the teeth 30 on the piston rod I! anda guiding yoke 3| extends to one side ofthe pawl 24 at the top and loosely surrounds the piston rod to keep the pawl in position relative to thepiston rod for engagementand'disengagement with its teeth. 1

The cam shaft 32 for the movement:.-of"the1- pawl 24 is mounted to oscillate in the uprights" 28, 28 and bridges the space betweenethese up:- rights in which the pawl-is held suspended. The

cam shaft operates against the roller-supported" saddle 34 to depress the pawl and advance the piston rod on an oscillatory movement of the handle 35-. The latter is keyed to the camshaft on the outside of the upright 28 Cooperating with the pawl 24 isxthe spring. pressed detent 3B which is mounted to slidehori-r zontally in the insert 31 of the movement plate it. This detent isvertica-lly spaced from the-pawl but is operativelyconnected therewith by the. studt-38- which dependsfrom the pawl and engages into the-pocket 39 in the top of the detent;

The detent carries at the bottom the pin 40, and;

aspringarm 4| normally urges the detent to.- ward the piston rod for engagement of its teeth 42 with the teeth 30 ofthepiston. rod. Thedetent thus holds the piston rod. against return; movement after every advance by the pawl 24; v and thus accurately holds thepiston tota prede e. I

termined. advance for. each stepoffits movement 'After the piston ro'dfhas been moved its. full rangeand is necessary to. release. it for the} withdrawal ofthe piston from the feeding: tube,,. the detent is automatically disengaged from the piston rod, on the unlocking of the cover of the: machine preparatory to the refill operation. ,For this purpose the'latch 23Yis pivotally mounted in the' move'ment plate by" means of the stud 43" which rotates in andprojects' thru the movement plate and carries at the under side the arm 441' The latter. extends laterally behind the. m '40 off the detentso thattl'ie opening movement of the latch 23 causes the arm 44'to'move the. pin and force'the' detent BBa'g'a'ihSt'the pressure-of.

the spring arm 4| out of engagement'wi'th' the teeth of ftlie piston. rod. when. this tak'e's place" the stud 38f'c'arried by. the twin, is moved with I it and simultaneously swmgsthe1paw1tut ofengagement withthe piston rod to thatf'the piston rod'i's free to be returned'"t'o"itsnofmarsta tifig;

position. a v Asillu'strated in Figure '5 the pistonrodfis. s

pended from a tehsio'n'sp'ring 45""whichis'tenf V 'si'oned'ias the piston isinoved for"tliefextrusion. j, of the butter patties: the'sprihgjas is" under tension it will. therefore automatically" move the piston rod" after its release from'fiengagement' with the pawl zwena detent 36 aim" Y afterthe piston 'been freed 'from itsadhesive 54, rotatably [holds the ,shaft with the cutting.

contact withthe remaining butter in the feedin tube. The adhesion ofthe butter. to the piston is broken when the cover! is swung open and raises thepiston rod by means of the shoulder 46 which serves as a stop for the head 41 of the piston rod.

tical position with' the piston rod extending horizontally therethru and free to be drawn back thru the cover to its normal starting position in which the piston is held against the underside of. the cover ready to again enter the feeding tube for feeding purposes. \A' tubular housing 56 surrounds the tension spring 45 and the spring is' suitably anchored in the cap 5| atthetop of this housing. 5

' But two tie rods 8, 8 are used in the connection of the base plate support 9 with'the movement plate 18. This is made possible by their substantially diametrical'arrangement relative to the axis of the piston rod and butter-feeding, tube that the downthrust of the piston rod into the feeding tube is substantially in a common vertical plane with the'axes of the tie rods 8, 8. In

this way the thrust of the piston rod and piston against the butter in the feeding tube can exert but a straight axial pressurein the feeding tube to thus avoid any lateral pressure which would cause a rocking of the-movement plate on the tie rods and a rocking of the feeding tube on the base plate in the absence of a third or fourth tie rodrfor the connection of the movement plateand base plate. This is an important feature of the present construction because more than two tie rods would obstruct the space surrounding the feeding tube and complicate the locking and unlocking of the cover, which, in order to make the,

machine practical, must berdone quickly, conveniently and with .the least effort on the. part of the operator. 1 a

. Th base plate 9, not only. rigidly supports and holds the feeding tube II in its-proper position relative to the feeding mechanism carriedby the movement plate l8, but it also serves-as the. support. of the cutting mechanism for cooperation with the mouth 52 at thebottom of the feeding tube. As will be seen from an inspection of the figures, the cutting mechanism includes an open ended wire frame 53 which is oscillated by the,

vertical shaft 54. The cutting wire 55 is stretched across the open end ofthewire frame 53 so as to sweep across the bottom of the mouth 52 of the butter feeding tube to sever the portion of the butter extruded therefrom.

frametoqone side of the mouth of the feeding tube an'd'at the. same time yieldingly supports. the shaft so that, when thetwo clutch members arev brought together on the closing of the cover,

the shaft 54 will yield until the two clutch.mem-' across the mouth of the feeding tube during the" operation of the machine so that the uniform ex Movement for the operation of the cutter frame is provided by the mutilated bevel gears 56 and 51 of which the bevel gear 56 is carried by the cam shaft 32. Movement of the handIe 35 for operation of the feeding mechanism thus simultaneously operates the bevel gear 56 which transmits its motion to the bevel gear 51 for the oscillation of the shaft 58 by means of which the bevel gear is pivoted in the cover 4. Shaft 58 carries the clutch member 59 on the under side of the cover and this clutch member is adapted to engage the clutch member 66 carried by the shaft 54. A suitable coi1 spring 6| which surrounds the shaft bers are brought into driving engagement with each other onthe movement of the shaft 58. The rigid base plate 9 thus serves to accurately supportand guidethecutting frame in its movement trusion of the butter by. the accurately operating feeding mechanismis supplemented by an ac I curate and uniform movement of the cutting mechanism to produce identical butter patties of.

uniform thickness at every operation of the ma-' chine.

heretofore described, the front portion of the housing in which the feeding mechanism is mounted and operated has its bottom elevated, from the bottom of the rear portion of the hous ing which'serves as the coolin and storage compartment. In this latter compartment is pro-, vided the removable'false bottom 62 which is channeled centrally to have the bottom of the ice chest 63 nest thereinto longitudinally thereof to properly locate and hold the cooling medium in the middle of the-compartmentand provide substantial'storage space for the butter on each side tlfereof. As is Well known the coldest temperacause it keeps the butter in the feeding tube at a cutting and spreading temperature whereother wiseit would be hard and consequently diflicult to cut. Air isfree to circulate around the butter feeding tube and the ice'chest is spaced from it to help in keeping the butter at all times at the proper cutting temperature.

-I claim: 1., Ina butter serving machine the combination-,of' a housing,a cover removably mounted "on said housing, a butter feeding tube within" saidhousing, a piston rod movable thru said O0V81','3, .piston carried by said piston rod for movement thereby in said feeding tube, inter m1ttent feeding means carried by said cover and engagingsaid piston rod, means for locking and unlocking said cover on said housing, and means operated by said locking and unlocking means for ,j-causing' the engagement or disengagement of saidintermittent feeding means with said piston rod.

2. In a butter serving machine the combination of a housing, a removable movement plate on said housing, a butter feeding tube within said housing, a piston rod movable thru said movement plate, a piston carried by said piston rod for movement in said feeding tube with the movement plate in place on said housing, intermittent feeding means carried by said movement plate and movable into and out of engagement with said piston rod and moving the piston rod in one direction, means for rigidly holding said movement plate on said housing to provide for the movement of said piston rod thru said movement plate relative to said feeding tube,

termittent feeding means from said pist'onrod t'oprovi'de for'them'overnent of said'pistonrod by said spring means. '2). In' a'butter serving machine, the combination of a housing, a removable cover'on said" housing, a butter feeding tube mounted with'iri said housing, a piston rod movablef t'l'i'ru' said cover, a piston carried said piston rod 'for' movement in said" feeding tube, intermittent feeding means carried by said cover and movable into and out of engagement with saidpis'toiirod' ane'moving said'piston into said feeding tube, a movable detent'engaging said" piston rod to normally hold said piston against movement out of said feeding tiibe, spring means for movemerit of said piston rod on the release by said de't'e'nt', means for locking said cover to said hous ing, and means operated by saidlocki'ng means in unlocking said cover for movement of said detent and feeding means out of engagement with said piston rod to provide for the movement thereof by said spring means.

4. A butter serving machine comprisinga housing-having an undivided combined cooling and'storage compartment and an adjacent butt'er feeding compartment with the bottom of said butter feeding compartment elevated from the bottom of the combined cooling and storage: compartment so as to provide an overhanging. section on the outside of said housing, a butter feeding tube supported on the elevated bottomand spacedifrom the walls of the feeding compartment and from the cooling and storage'conipa-rtment, a mouth in the lower end of said feeding tube and extending thru said elevated bottom of said overhanging section of said housing, a cutting mechanism on thezu-nderrside of said elevated bottom cooperating With said mouth, and a feeding mechanism in'cluding'a piston for extruding the butter from the mouthof said feeding tube in said overhanging? section" of housing.

5. A butter serving machine comprising a housing having an open top and a closed bottom, acover closing the open top of said housing, a movement plate carried by said cover,- a rigid base plate in the bottom of said housing, a' pair of tie rods anchored in said base plate and projecting thru said housing and said cover and movement plate, a pair of locking dogs mounted to'swing on top of said movement plate-for engagement With said tie rods above said cover so as to hold said cover and movement plate rigidly locked to said tie rods, a feeding mechanism sesame piston red, a butter feeding tube-mounted or? sa idbase plate within sa-idhousing" and'ibetweeri; sard-tierbd'sa iston movable" said-feedingtube; and a' pis'ton'rod-movable by-s'aid feeding" mechanism thru said" cover" and movement plate 7 for-movement of said piston"- in said feeding tube;

6; In abutter servingmachine"the" combine am of acombin'ed feeding and cuttingnni't coin" prising" a rigid base plate; a' rigid movement plate r'e'movably' supported by'sa'i'd' base were; means for raising saidmovem'ent plate, lockingv means for"locking saidmnvement plate and said raising" means to said base. plate, step by step feeding me'ans carriedby'said' movement plate includingl'a piston rod and piston for movement? of said piston rod and piston toward said base plate, afeeding' tube mounted on saidbas'e plate for movement of said piston rod and piston thereinto, holding means carried by said" movement plate for engagement of said piston rod' to normally hold said piston rod against movement out of said feeding tube, means operatively connecting said'lockingmeans and-said? holding means to provide for the simultaneous unlocking of said: raising meansand the release of said piston rodholding means at any position of said pistoninsaid'feeding tube, and a; cutting member carried on the under sidev of; said-baseplate and operatively connected with said feeding-means to'cause said cutting member to-swing acrossthe bottom of said feedingtubee 7. In a butter serving machine the combina tion of a housing, a cover for said housing, a

, base plate in the bottom of said housing, a butter mounted on said movement plate for moving a feeding tube'mounted on said base plate, a com binedtie rod and locking member carried bysaid base plate for cooperation with said feeding, tube and said cover, a movement plate carried: on top ofsaid cover for operation thereon, feed ing= means on said movement plate including; a; piston rod and a piston mounted to swing on said piston rod, latch means'carried by said movement plate for locking engagement with said combined tie: rod and locking member to provide a rigid connection between said base. plate and saidmovement plate to permit the extrusion of butter under pressure by said pi'sto of said feeding means from said feeding tube; and: pivoted means on said cover arranged Tuativ to' said co'mbined tie r'od and lockin mom:- ber andf-Sai'd' piston said feeding tube to provid'e" for the simultaneous release of said com nine-d tierod and locking member from-said movement" plate and-the release of said" piston" 7 in said feeding tube" for free movement" of said piston out 'of said feedingtube'o'n" the movement of said cover away froms'aid housing.- 

